Veneer
by korinara
Summary: Pein & Sakura. But don't you see? He's not a villain, he's just an antihero.
1. 1 through 10

**Such a Charming Veneer**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto.

**A/N: **This fic is anywhere between marginally and completely out of character in regards to Pein. It was written very early on in the series, when Pein's personality had not been developed much, if at all.

Regardless, I hope you enjoy. I also hope the lack of periods doesn't scare you off. One-sentence stories are hard to make interesting!

**#01 – Walking**

He was a walking tackle box with all those stupid rings in his face, Sakura observed as Sir Akatsuki Leader was escorted to the maximum-security prison compound, one ANBU official on each arm as well as several others surrounding him; but then again, when he didn't even glance up—just stared straight ahead with unblinking eyes—the thin barbells running through the bridge of his nose looked rather…endearing.

**#02 – Waltz**

He had this certain way of walking—this bit of grace in his step that was somehow masculine and the sway of his arms and the casual puff of his chest—that made Sakura want to just study him for hours and hours and hours behind a one-way mirror or something, because it was almost like he was waltzing; it was a little bit after she noticed this trait in him that Shikamaru approached her, giving her a lazy look and an even lazier comment: "You know, he never used to do that until he noticed you were watching him."

**#03 – Wishes**

For all the wishes that Sakura could have chosen at the moment, she didn't choose the most obvious one—that Sasuke would return and he, Naruto, and she would all live happily forever; no, instead she chose one that was slightly selfish, but damn it, if anybody deserved to be selfish, it was Sakura: "Star light, star bright, the first star I see tonight, I wish I may, I wish I might, have the wish I wish tonight: Please make Sir Leader stop giving me those really sexy stares, because he's my patient and he's the enemy and Ibiki would _kill _me if he saw me blushing for that bastard!"

**#04 – Wonder**

She really had to wonder sometimes if those exact same stares were actually meant to _affect _her at all, and if so, whether it was supposed to be negative of positive; one day he would come back from his interrogation session—beaten—bloody—bruised—and would just _look _at her, strange, calculating eyes locked firmly with hers, conveying no emotion whatsoever, until she looked away forcibly, and the next day he would stare at her with such rage that she could swear she _tasted _it.

**#05 – Worry**

"Don't worry," she murmured under her breath, a small smile painting her lips as she took his hand and healed the puncture wound there, "Ibiki won't kill you if you give up information, okay?" before she finished up and smoothed her thumbs over the newly healed wounds that left minimal scarring; he'd turn his head and scoff quietly at this, but Sakura didn't miss the way he pouted out his lower lip as he tried to hold in the reddening of his cheeks—she thought it was nice to _not _have some emotionless, stick-up-his-ass patient once in a while.

**#06 – Whimsy**

He was whimsical when he wanted to be, especially when he didn't realize that she was watching him from the security cameras as the guards led him into his room; he'd sigh deeply, throw up his hands, collapse on his bunk, and quote random literature to pass the time; Sakura particularly liked it when he took on different accents for the different pieces of dialogue, because it showed how little all of this "torture" had affected his actual character.

**#07 - Waste/Wasteland**

She didn't speak with him often, but when she did, he always offered such engaging conversation, speaking about the wastelands he'd seen in his travels, how badly the citizens in the poorer, smaller countries were treated, how many of Konoha's traditions and beliefs were just fanciful misconceptions concocted by minds that were obsessed with order and the ability to bind; of course, Sakura didn't agree with most of what he said, but she listened intently on anyway, nodding here, throwing in her side to the debate there, and he never got angry, just…thoughtfully frustrated.

**#08 - Whiskey and Rum**

She wanted to learn more about this Sir Leader—he was so _intriguing—_so she went out to lunch with Ibiki, sharing whiskey and the occasional rum, exchanging thoughts on his process thus far, and Ibiki actually commented that if he went on being even mildly cooperative, he might be downgraded from maximum-security to close-security in due time; Sakura decided not to tell her newest patient just yet, because she wanted him to see at the _end _of the road what ends his good behavior brought him to.

**#09 – War**

There was an interesting war of emotions that flitted across his face when she smiled, greeting him with a cheery, "Hello, Pein!" the next morning; she worked with a hum on checking him over, making sure his chakra was still drained, making sure he had no secret jutsus or anything hiding up his prison-issued sleeve.

**#10 – Weddings**

"So have you ever been married?" she asked through the speakerphone quite a time later, probably about a week, if she had to estimate, and he shook his head after taking a bite of his peanut butter and jelly sandwich; he carefully finished chewing before looking up at the big black box on the ceiling where she sat, squinting into the big black window, almost shouting, "I've never had the time to contemplate it."


	2. 11 through 20

**Such a Charming Veneer**

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**#11 – Birthday**

Pein wasn't surprised when his birthday slipped past unnoticed, because after all, he hadn't told anybody, and he'd rather not have anybody know, anyway; he _was_ surprised, however, when he returned to his cell after his appointed one hour of walking in circles in a chain-link cage, only to find that someone had changed his sheets, given him an extra blanket—which he promptly used as a pillow, because his sad excuse for a bed didn't _have _one—and an extra sheet, and a small paper the size of a business card lay on his perfectly made bed; he picked it up, of course, one eyebrow quirked, and read the words scrawled as if whoever wrote it was trying to conceal their identity: _Sleep well._

**#12 – Blessing**

It was a blessing in itself that he didn't open his mouth the next day as she started checking him over in that horrid routine, healing a couple scrapes he'd obtained from being slapped around a bit earlier, because heaven knew that he was simply _aching _to say something—_anything; _"I know it was you," "Thank you," "Why do you care?" "I slept well," all crossed his mind as possible things to say, but at the end of the exam, the logical side of his brain forced him to stay quiet, even when she patted his arm in a soothing gesture and sent him on his way.

**#13 – Bias**

"So the doctor has a positive bias toward you," one of the officials said when escorting him to the mess hall later on—_way _later on; it might even have been a couple weeks later—and he only shrugged at this mention; "Don't play innocent," another official chided, kicking him in the back of the legs, and it was all it took for him not to buckle at the force, so instead he answered with a quiet, hard, "I am not attracting any of Miss Haruno's attentions, sirs, and I do believe that neither are any of you," which earned him a sharp blow to the head from one man's elbow.

**#14 – Burning**

The first time Pein realized that what had at first been a simple case of empathy from an emotional and slightly foolish woman had quickly turned into something deeper—a bit more serious from his end, in particular—was when he'd dreamed of her: It wasn't an innocent dream by any means, and he tried to rationalize that dreams about sexual activity when the body was deprived of such for any lengths of time was absolutely and completely normal; the reactions he started having when she did her once-over of him, though, soft, small hands ghosting over a red mark on his neck, making him feel like he was burning, fingers pressing gently into a bruise on his scalp, kneading, smoothing through his hair that was slightly flat from the poor quality shampoo, chakra pouring in and giving him chills and making him go rigid was, quite decidedly, very _ab_normal.

**#15 – Breathing**

And as the hours melted into days and the days melted into weeks, he found himself trying to steady his breathing any way he could, clawing desperately at the resolve slipping through his fingers like the hot sand of Wind Country, closing his eyes and gritting his teeth in an almost-grimace whenever he snagged his hip on a stray corner or "accidentally"—really, it was accidental; he sworeto _everything _that he did it on accident—rubbed his shoulder against a piece of the wire fence that stuck straight out; he was fairly certain that Sakura didn't notice the abrupt change in atmosphere whenever she touched him, however innocent it may have been—the sudden rise in temperature when she put her hand under his shirt and on his bare back, pressing that cool stethoscope to his spine, moving it occasionally, listening to his heartbeat, and then switching to his chest and doing the same, commenting on how he shouldn't strain himself too much in his limited exercise time, because goodness, his heart sure was working overtime today.

**#16 – Breaking**

He was regret to inform himself, late in his bunk one night, unable to sleep, tired of replaying the scenes of books in his head, tired of reciting poetry, tired of using his imagination, that he felt something breaking in his demeanor; maybe it was a collapsing of some wall, maybe it was the erosion of some important guard, maybe…maybe it was nothing and he was just going insane from the lack of social interaction, but he suddenly wanted to talk to Sakura—to see her—and really, it must have been midnight, so why was he having these thoughts at such an inappropriate time?

**#17 – Belief**

It was Pein's belief that his "escorts" really didn't like them, especially when they dragged him into a broom closet during one of their trips to the mess hall and proceeded to beat him, fists digging into his chest and his jaw until his legs couldn't hold him any more and he fell, and then he forced himself to suffer quietly through the kicks to his ribs and the occasional heel slamming into the side of his head; he tried to eat when they dragged him to his seat in the cafeteria, alone, bruised and broken and feeling, for all rights and purposes, as if he were going to slip into unconsciousness, but he found that his hands were shaking too much for him to even pick up his food.

**#18 – Balloon**

Sakura prodded the bruise on his cheek that had swelled to well over half the size of a balloon, a frown coming over her delicate features as she sighed and set to work healing him; "Who did this to you?" she asked, but Pein refused to answer; angry though he was, he was no snitch, and he was not stupid: If he told her exactly who did it, then he'd be set up for something ridiculous, or in the very least, they'd beat him again; so he just shook his head and muttered, "I did," under his breath.

**#19 – Balcony**

"There are no balconies here to confess your undying love," one of the officials declared sometime later, grinning in that disgusting manner, and Pein wanted so, _so _badly to punch him in his badly manicured face, but he just couldn't with his hands cuffed behind his back; "And even if you did," the other continued, still smug from their earlier beating, "we'd kill you before you got the chance to have her first."

**#20 – Bane**

The bane of Pein's existence was that when he began to like someone—a woman, in particular—he got quiet to avoid letting the secret spill; this was probably the _worst _thing to do around Sakura, he supposed, because after appearing to her beaten and bloody he was now quiet, and surely she thought that something was wrong; he knew for a _fact _that she figured something had gone sour when his very own interrogator approached him about a week later, congratulating him on being moved to a close-security prison.


	3. 21 through 30

**Such a Charming Veneer**

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**#21 – Quiet**

Everything was deathly quiet in the first couple months of Pein's transfer, much to Sakura chagrin; he never really spoke with her other than to offer a polite "Good morning," or "Hello," and even though she _tried _to spark conversation with him, he would never answer with anything more than single-word replies.

**#22 – Quirks**

Just like everyone, Pein had his little quirks, and one of them was definitely his penchant ability to take and maintain a leadership position, even in the prison; he was allowed into a corrective program offered under only the tightest security, and he quickly became the head of said corrective program—or _The Book Club, _though Pein refused to call it this—and Sakura would visit him often and ask about the books he and his group read and went over; he never answered her with anything other than a shrug or a soft, "Hmm," of course, but she persisted, because he would eventually have to shake the angst that sat so comfortably on his shoulders.

**#23 – Question**

"It's not a question of what your _intentions _are, Sakura, it's a question of what he plans to _do _with you once he has you in a vulnerable position," were the exact words of her first higher-up, who had dragged her into his office and laid his hands flat on his desk, a stern look in his cold eyes; this is what Sakura repeated to a stunned Pein, who blinked owlishly, finally broken from his silent streak, it seemed, and set down his non-lethal plastic spoon, swallowing the mouthful of thick, sticky macaroni-and-cheese; "So little faith," he said, closing those odd, red-ringed eyes, "in that they would put such a thing in my area of interests; I may be a criminal, Miss Haruno, but I am not a heathen with no morals whatsoever, and I can assure you that forcing any or all of my now or _ever-_existing affections on you is far, far beyond my level of deceitfulness, and I, quite frankly, am very offended at this accusation."

**#24 – Quarrel**

"No, no, I don't think that's right, Miss Haruno; the author was clearly trying to convey the fallacies of a kingship, and with it, this idea of the Divine Right of Kings," Pein explained through the bars of his cell, sitting with one ankle crossed over his knee on his bunk; Sakura fumbled with words for a moment, admitting to only herself that she had been bested in an intelligent, amiable quarrel, and finally settled with a feeble, "I can see your point now, but please just call me Sakura," to which Pein only smiled at, rubbing absently at the scars on his nose where the barbells had been forcibly removed.

**#25 – Quitting**

"Quitting the day so soon, Haruno?" an officer asked—one from the other prison—one that usually escorted Pein places—with a cocky, condescending tone that made her frown as she was just about to leave for home; "And after ol' Kingdom Fallen has worked so _hard _to whip out his cock to you at every given moment?" he continued with that faux concern, leaning with his arms crossed against the opposite wall; "That's harassment," Sakura said coolly, willing herself to maintain her composure, "and I have half a mind to have you written up for it; now please ex_cuse _me while I say goodbye to 'Kingdom Fallen.'"

**#26 – Jump**

It was a hop, skip, and a jump from the viewing area to Pein's cellblock, and Sakura took advantage of this whenever possible; she often had time alone with him since she was a)the resident medic and b)assigned to him _specifically, _and for this she was grateful: He was such a pleasure to be around; his conversation engaged her like nothing else, he was well-educated, and the fact that he was one of the most dangerous, accomplished crime bosses in history and yet still such an in_triguing _character had Sakura pondering over his mental condition for hours on end; she'd never tell him this, though, because it made her sound slightly obsessed, which she so totally wasn't.

**#27 – Jester**

"Hey, King, where's your jester at?" that one officer called one day while Sakura was pulling him into her office to heal a particularly bad scrape he'd obtained to his cheek, and while Pein promptly ignored him and stared straight on ahead, Sakura shot the man an icy glare over her shoulder; once in the safety of the white, sterilized room, she sighed a bit and ranted over the man before starting in on healing his cheek, unknowingly brushing her knuckles over his temple and infusing her chakra into only the most therapeutic of places she knew, causing him to relax more than ever; this, however, was not a good idea, and nobody knew better than Sakura did at that moment, because either Pein was constantly stiff and tense or she'd relaxed him _too _much, judging by his movements: leaning forward into her touch, skimming his lips across her arm, not near enough to make her shiver but quite enough to make her burn.

**#28 – Jousting**

"You know, Miss—I mean Sakura," Pein said slyly soon after the healing incident, apparently unfazed by it, "as the King, I can't tell you how interested I am in the wonderful albeit violent sport of jousting," and Sakura stared suspiciously at him; "Are you possibly alluding, _Pein, _that I smuggle you in a book about jousting?" she asked, raising an eyebrow; "I'm sure you're well aware that books depicting violent or sexual acts are strictly forbidden, ADC number 550781," she continued on, and Pein merely raised two placating hands; "Certainly not, Miss Haruno; I am simply suggesting that you provide the inmate under your supervision with proper facilities, and trust me on this: A book illustrating medieval jousting in all its glory is most _definitely _a required facility."

**#29 – Jewel**

There was that guard again, Sakura mused, already planning out a route to avoid him, but something caught her eye before she could initiate said plan; it was like a jewel or something equally as bright and brilliant, and upon further inspection, Sakura realized that a man laying in the fetal position—protecting his head with his hands, knees drawn up to his chest—on the floor was being _beaten _with this "jewel"; she immediately rushed to the pair, fearing the worst, and though she hadn't wished for it at all, her assumptions were correct: The officer was repeatedly jamming the butt of his small can of mace into Pein's ribs, and Pein was just _taking _it, occasionally grunting; needless to say, she incapacitated the officer with a swift press of her fingers and thumbs into his pressure points, and knelt to help Pein up, pushing that ginger-orange hair out of his face and pressing frantic, light kisses to wherever a bruise or red mark marred his face.

**#30 – Just**

"Just a misunderstanding," Pein attempted to explain to Sakura later, after the officer had been reported and fired; "Just a slip-up is all," he said, and Sakura damn near punched him, broken ribs be damned; "Just an _accident, _is what you're implying?" she asked angrily, stalking in front of him, pink hair tied hastily back into a low ponytail; "I don't understand why you kept taking it, Pein; this guy was just an overgrown bully," she continued furiously, staring at him through the bars of his cells; the lights went out in his block, and he sighed a soft, weary, "Think about this, Sakura: What might bullies do if you were to provoke them?" that had Sakura fighting back the very different urges to rip off those cell bars and kick him in his gut or just march straight in there and kiss him until he couldn't form any more of those highly intelligent sentences that made far too much sense for her to enjoy.


	4. 31 through 40

**Such a Charming Veneer**

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**#31 – Smirk**

Her smirk gave away everything she was feeling, Pein realized, and he was very sure that she was feeling quite…unsurprised; after all, he'd spent years upon years simply observing people, staying quiet, studying their every move, and this was no different; Sakura was such a beautifully intelligent young girl, and it barely even registered with him that she might already _know _of his plans when he flat-out let her know the gist of it on his Half a Year in Prison celebration: "My comrades intend to break me free, Sakura, and I would like to extend to you an invitation of sorts—come with us, live with us…live with _me _and be happier than you are here."

**#32 – Sorrow**

And oh, just imagine her sorrow, just imagine her pain, her anxiety, her indecision when he asked her that golden question again a few weeks later, voice monotone, expertly keeping emotions better left buried in check; "Come _with _me, Sakura," he murmured under his breath in passing, brushing his fingers over her wrists when she handcuffed him and led him to his cell; "Don't stay here; you're not happy, and you know you're not, so indulge yourself; do something selfish for once, because God knows you deserve it," he'd say when they were alone, and she wouldn't answer—would just smile bashfully and heal the ankle he intentionally sprained.

**#33 – Stupidity**

He supposed, in retrospect, as he lay in his cell late at night, listening to the chainsaw-like sounds of his bunkmate, that befriending this woman wasn't quite a good idea; it wasn't quite a good idea because he'd established feelings that he'd long since left behind—left behind with the disillusions of something much brighter in his supposed future with his last blue-haired companion, burying them with the burying of her soft, warm body, hiding them from himself and the world, because contradictory to his name, he couldn't handle the pain; so it was his own stupidity, then, and his own naïveté in the essences and procedures of true love and all the like, that led him to yet another early demise; surely if she stayed with him, she would be killed, just like the last, and one before that; however, he wasn't quite sure that he could just forget her so quickly and move on like nothing had ever happened, because something _had _happened, and he wanted something _more _to happen, and so help him, he was such an _idiot, _but if it felt this good being an idiot, then hell, he wasn't too adverse to the idea of ignorance.

**#34 – Serenade**

And so he'd made up his mind about this girl, about this love, about this world, about this _life, _and he would _tell _her, be blunt about it, hope she would appreciate it, hope she didn't expect him to serenade her from behind iron bars, because that was ridiculously tacky; he broke his arm himself that night, pounding happily away at his own Radius bone until he felt an enormous pain, and then he cried out in mock-agony until a guard came and carted him off to the medic room where Sakura met him; he was alone with her, then, and since he'd accepted that yeah, he kind of had feelings for her, he felt giddy—like a schoolgirl or something of the same immaturity.

**#35 – Sarcasm**

"Wonderful," Sakura deadpanned upon seeing him, holding his broken arm to him, and Pein grinned awkwardly; "Sarcasm was always your forte," he laughed, until she took him roughly by said broken arm, healed him quickly, and then bid for him to be sent on his way, but no, no, no, this wasn't supposed to happen at _all; _he was supposed to admit his feelings, and she was supposed to cry tears of joy, and he was supposed to carry her off to some phantasmagoric land where there was no death or fighting or broken Akatsuki organizations or people to lock him away again.

**#36 – Sordid**

Sordid and vile though it was, and though he'd told her that taking advantage of a woman was beyond him, he took her by the wrists and held her still, looking down into her face, searching her bright, green eyes for any trace of that emotion she was so bad at hiding; but she wasn't showing anything he could easily discern, and so he opened his mouth a little bit, tongue sliding across the naked hole on the inside of his lip where a stud used to be, and he leaned down and he _kissed _her, open-mouthed, desperate, _scared; _he was scared of her rejecting him, he was scared of doing something rash, he was scared of leaving her behind, he was scared of not being able to forget or _forgive _if worse came to worst, and he was scared that she might not give him a chance to explain his actions—his motives—his _hopes—_properly.

**#37 – Soliloquy**

His mind broke into an internal soliloquy, muttering frantic warnings: "Let go of her," "Leave her alone," "She'll hate you," _"You won't be able to stop," _they urged, and he tried to listen to them, really he did, but his grip had relaxed so much on her wrists that she was able to tear herself away, backing herself into a desk opposite the room; he stared after her, breathing heavily from anxiety, and she did the same, though he knew not why her breaths were labored—surely not for the same reason as he; "Pein," she managed, her voice quiet, soft, and a bit hurt, and just when he'd contemplating turning and striding out to preserve his dignity and save his ego, she tugged him back by the collar of his garish orange jumpsuit, falling not quite into his arms; he was happy to simply hold her, newly healed arm pressing her to him tightly and the other hand threading into his hair, and he wished—so, _so _desperately wished, now—that she _would _reject him, because _what had he done?_

**#38 – Sojourn**

He was suddenly glad that the guards had been forced to wake Sakura from her slumber at home in order to tend to him, and that they were currently sleeping themselves, lazy from their daily sojourn, because surely they'd be caught, and then that would leave him hanging dry and unsatisfied; as it were, the action of Sakura pulling down that thick zipper of his clothes, running small, beautiful, delicate little hands across his collarbone and over his chest, passing briefly over his once-pierced nipples and giving him a shock of pleasure that made everything reel, thumbs slipping down to untuck his undershirt, was making him _needy, _and he _wanted _for the first time in a very, very long time—since the blue-haired woman, whom he would not name and whom he still held in a very, very high regard, but _this is what she would want, _anyway, for him to move on and _thrive; _he didn't know what to do with this girl, though, because he didn't want to be insistent, but he didn't want to just take all the pleasure himself, so he unbuttoned the front of her shirt until she slipped it off her shoulders and pulled his mouth to hers again.

**#39 – Share**

Minutes that seemed like hours later, and Pein was nearly dying, his erection a persisting, demanding presence beneath the fabric of his folded-over jumpsuit, and Sakura seemed to share in his desire, for she was making little noises that made him twitch and hold back from rocking into the cradle of her thighs; she tried to force him against the wall, but he wasn't going to have any of this, and pulled his jumpsuit only so far past his hips and just thumbed aside her underwear for him to thrust into her, permission be damned, because he _knew _what they both wanted, and they both wanted _this, _and when he filled her to the hilt on a groan and then pulled out again, she whispered something that made his entire groin area tighten: "Don't be scared if I tell you I love you, okay?"

**#40 – Solitary**

When all was said and done and he was panting from the aftermath, face buried in the crook of her neck, she brought up the thing that had been prodding at the both of them for the past couple weeks: "You want me to leave with you, Pein?" she asked gently, and he nodded; he glanced up once nervously at the security camera, but she assuaged his fear by running a hand through his hair; "Yes," he admitted, "because I don't think I can leave you behind, Sakura; humans are not solitary creatures by nature; on the contrary, we're quite social, and without human contact and human affection…" —here he leaned down to press his cheek against hers— "we die."


	5. 41 through 50

**Such a Charming Veneer**

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**#41 – Nowhere**

"Next week," he told her the week _after _their little encounter, and Sakura frowned inconsolably, watching him eat his crappy peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwich from her station; "Next week I start going nowhere fast," he said, never looking up from his plate, "and nowhere just sounds so wonderful this time of year, doesn't it?"

**#42 – Neutral**

It was inevitable that someone found out; it was inevitable that Pein's bunkmate would realize what was happening when Pein was sent back late, and when confronted by Sakura, who was ready to defend herself to the death, he grinned and closed his one eye good-naturedly, the crude absence of the other not even bothering her in the slightest; "I'm neutral, of course," he told her, voice hoarse, "if you'll supply me with extra pillows, Haruno," and Sakura was so, _so _relieved at this; "Sure thing," she said, and when she brought him said extra linens, she couldn't help but wonder why they'd chosen her to be a prison guard-slash-medic, anyway; she was _horrible _at this job.

**#43 – Nuance**

The nuances that existed between herself and Pein _existed, _sure, and nobody found this out more thoroughly than Sakura herself did while waiting that dreadful week for the cavalry to arrive; they weren't a huge deal, though, and she found herself _far _more occupied with her ultimate decision: Should she stay in Konoha, where she had nothing, where the drunken hokage had been killed and replaced with a mangy tyrant of a man, where her friends had all passed away one by one, leaving her invariably alone in her grief and solitude, or should she leave with Pein to someplace that was unsure—someplace that reminded her of her golden days with Team 7 and revenge- and accomplishment-obsessed little boys?

**#44 – Near**

The day drew nearer and nearer—much too near for Sakura's tastes, and on the day before Pein's friends were to show, she sat him down in the medical office, unplugged the security camera, and put a hand on his knee; "Pein," she said, tears threatening to fall, fingers kneading into the rough fabric of his jumpsuit, and his expression told all: the grandly withheld patience, the hope, the utter, blind _brevity _of such a request; "I've made up my mind," she continued verily, "about your offer, and…and I have nothing here for me, so _yes, _Pein, _please _take me with you," and his eyes with the odd rings and the too-pink edges widened as if he couldn't believe it himself; "Good," he said finally, but all of the emotion he'd been stockpiling in some corner of his heart leaked through in just that word, and he pretended to be getting his "broken finger" healed when guards rushed in to assess the otherwise unseeable situation; Sakura could only smile and point them in the direction of the "broken" security camera.

**#45 – Natural**

It was natural that he should feel excited, Pein decided, and a little bit anxious, as well, because it was already midnight of the next day and his boys hadn't shown up; Sakura had already paced in front of his cell several times in the course of that night, insisting to the watchmen that she wished to work overtime to start paying for some extra-expensive bills this month, but Pein knew she was getting nervous, too; it was cruel to build up so much hope, so many promises of a better life, only for the dam to break and the plan to fall to hell, and he vowed that he would slaughter each and every survivor of the once-feared Akatsuki—three left, including him, remained, though there were—if they let Sakura down.

**#46 – Horizon**

The night passed without a single inkling of sound or disturbance, and rather than be angry, Pein was starting to be _worried; _there were only two left, only Kisame and Zetsu, and he wasn't so sure they were able to traverse Konoha's borders undetected; so he lay awake all night, staring up at the ceiling, hearing Sakura's footsteps occasionally, and when he could see the sun climbing up over the horizon through the ridiculously tiny window in the top right corner of his cell, he _saw _it and it felt _wonderful: _the telltale scent of something fresh and green followed by the slow, silent creep of Zetsu's vines through that same tiny window, wherein they inched to Pein's foot, grabbed a hold, and then withdrew; they had found him, they were okay, _he _was okay, and so he calmly signaled for Sakura.

**#47 – Valiant**

He felt, for all rights and purposes, as valiant a misunderstood black knight as any as the tip of Zetsu's flytrap broke straight through the concrete of the cell floor, vines tearing apart thick blocks and creating a hole plenty big enough for himself and Sakura to squeeze through; she entered the cell carefully, closed it behind her, made sure Pein's bunkmate was still asleep—not that they had made any noise _at all, _anyway—and then looked at Pein, who was holding out a hand; she took it and he smiled with all his might, and it felt like everything would be okay as he pointed her toward the tunnel, watched the brief moment of hesitation pass over Zetsu's extra, botanic appendages, and then saw to it that his former spy and still-strong comrade and friend took her by the ankles and wrists, guiding her down the tunnel; he waited patiently for his turn, also being guided, blind down in the darkness, and it was _cold _underground, so when he emerged well on the other side of the prison, well away from civilization and chakra-sensing range, saw Sakura standing near Kisame, he brushed the dirt calmly from his hair and smiled again.

**#48 – Virtuous**

He wasn't virtuous by any means, and he didn't try to come across as such, either; but he felt just slightly better about himself—about the world—about everything—as he traveled with Zetsu, Kisame, and Sakura, toward neutral territory far to the east, where they planned on throwing away their shinobi headbands for good and putting all of that muscle and limberness acquired to good use by becoming humble, quiet, happy farmers, planting crops in the soil and never thinking of evil organizations or the death of their friends or the collapse of the only world they'd ever known again; somehow, through the heat of the deserts and the haze of the swamplands and the frigidness of the islands they hopped to and fro over, Pein was able to find that the good things now ever-present in his life far outweighed the bad, and he was able to show this to Sakura and show this to Kisame and Zetsu and proudly call them his new _family._

**#49 – Victory**

It was a victory in its own right when the three of them found exactly what they were looking for in that unknown land to the east, when they were able to combine every bit of monies they had found, earned, and saved to buy a small plot of land somewhere in what was beginning to evolve into a city; Zetsu was wonderful and all too happy with planting and maintaining a garden off of which they all thrived, Kisame didn't mind at all finding a grunt job in the inner "city" carrying boxes to and from large cargo ships, and Pein was perfectly okay with his new lifestyle as Dr. Haruno's secretary and personal assistant; all in all, as the days turned to weeks, the weeks to months, and the months to years without even a fleeting mention of Konoha or the Akatsuki, the four of them began to relax more, and they came to call this place home, and the community—contrived mostly of humble, modest citizens—welcomed them with open, warm arms, even to Kisame, the shark-like man, Zetsu, the human flytrap who had to be content with eating just animal meat from then on, and Pein and Sakura, the foreign couple with a less-than-happy past slowly being obscured by a gradually rounded belly and thoughts that were nothing if not constantly striving forward.

**#50 – Defeat**

However, as much as Pein cherished and adored their victory, it was their ultimate _defeat _that he constantly was grateful for; he had not a clue nor did he want to think about where he would be if the Akatsuki hadn't fallen, if he hadn't been captured and hauled to prison, if he hadn't undergone a drastic, rather _draining _change of personality, if Zetsu and Kisame hadn't survived through everything and stayed loyal to him; he treasured his past wins, sure, but his losses were what had the most effect on him today, as he decided with the "family" he'd never before appreciated to name this new child Kouhei after peace and calmness; Sakura thumbed his ear where he had let the piercings close up—every single one of them was gone and never to be replaced, because he was _past _all that, really—to break him from his thoughts; he could only hope, when he lay down with Sakura, with a bit of his past, most of his present, and all of his future, that further generations would inherit such a charming veneer as they all now could proudly and guiltlessly exhibit.


End file.
